Fort Hood victims' spouses to receive veterans benefits

Updated 1:00 pm, Friday, August 23, 2013

An hour before jurors found Maj. Nidal Hasan guilty of all charges in connection with the 2009 attack at Fort Hood, state officials announced that the spouses of the fatally shot victims will be treated as if the deaths occurred during combat.

Spouses of the 13 people killed in the Fort Hood shootings will receive Veterans Land Board benefits, including eligibility for below-market interest rate loans for land and home purchases, said Land Commissioner Jerry Patterson in a news release.

“Each of the active and retired military members who died in the Fort Hood terrorist attack lost their life while assigned to duty in Texas or in support of the military in Texas,” Patterson said. “Like Travis and Crockett, their spilled blood remains forever intermingled with Texas soil. Their surviving spouses who are residents of Texas at the time of application should be eligible for VLB programs.”

In addition to the lower loan rates, the benefits allow the spouses to utilize eight Texas State Veterans Homes, which provide long-term, high-quality care for veterans and their families; and burial with full military honors at four Texas veterans cemeteries. Typically, veterans must be Texans who were honorably discharged and served at least 90 days of active duty to be receive VLB benefits.

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“This wasn't workplace violence — these were casualties of war and we're going to change the rules to give these families full access to VLB benefits,” Patterson said. “We'll let the lawyers work out the details, but I intend to make sure we honor their sacrifice.”

It took the 13-member jury just hours to determine its unanimous verdict: that Hasan was guilty of 13 counts of premeditated murder and 32 counts of attempted premeditated murder, making him eligible for the death penalty.